One of the most critical aspects of your home is its doors. It completes your home from the outside, letting you keep your privacy and safety inside.
While most homeowners choose to go the DIY route when replacing their doors-whether it’s the front, garage, or room doors; it’s still advisable to leave this task to professional installers.
If you’re still hesitant, this article shares the why’s and how’s of choosing the best door installation contractor.
6 Reasons Why You Should Hire A Professional Door Installation Contractor
Even an excellently crafted door is useless when poorly installed. Going DIY might install your doors in a way that looks just right on the surface at no cost, but you may lack the know-how to see potential issues that could arise as time goes by.
Here are six compelling reasons you should consider looking for an expert door installer.
- Ensures Proper Installation
Professionals are called experts for nothing. A professional door installer studied the proper way of installing doors and has the experience to back it up. They know what they’re doing; it’s their work, after all.
There’s a lot that can go wrong during a door installation process. However, a professional knows how to handle potential hiccups and solve them more easily.
In addition, professional installers also have the necessary equipment needed to install a door properly, particularly garage doors. So, you don’t have to worry about renting or purchasing equipment to get the job done.
You can rest easy if you decide to work with a professional door installation contractor in Springfield because they will make sure that the job gets done correctly without you spending a dime on specialized tools and equipment.
- Provides Convenience
With their extensive experience and knowledge, and access to professional-grade equipment, expert door installers can fix your doors much faster than you will.
You waste a lot of time fumbling around and consulting YouTube or Google to try and figure out what you should do next. On the other hand, door installation professionals know the process down to the T. They can finish the job much faster than you would if you tried to do it alone. This conveniently saves you from wasted time, costs, resources, and frustrations.
- Increased Safety
Every year, doors, particularly garage doors, are responsible for numerous injuries—from simply pinched fingers to serious crushing injuries.
Many of these injuries occur just by simply opening or closing their doors. Just imagine what could happen if you undertook the installation on your own. If you have no experience installing a home door, now is not the time to learn it.
To ensure your and your family’s safety and avoid injuries, it’s best to hire a contractor with a team of professionals who understand and practice the proper safety precautions needed when installing a door.
- Proper Insulation
As mentioned before, professionals can ensure the proper installation of your doors, leading to better insulation and savings on your energy bills. However, if your door is not correctly fitted and sealed, you could have issues controlling indoor temperature.
During winter, you could face problems where heat from the inside escapes. Consequently, you may experience uncomfortable drafts of hot air from the outside getting in.
These may seem small, but these issues can cause your HVAC system to work harder to maintain the ideal temperatures indoors. And you’ll see these reflected on your energy bills.
- Increased Security
Another important reason you should let the professionals install your door is to ensure security. If your door is professionally installed, it makes your home less vulnerable to intruders.
One aspect of door installation is the lock and deadbolt. And an improperly installed deadbolt or lock can compromise your home’s safety. In terms of high-tech exterior or garage doors, an installation professional is best suited for properly wiring your doors, so you won’t have to think about potential accidents due to faulty wiring.
- Warranty
You may find a door that comes with warranties. But to fully enjoy the benefits of these warranties, you need a professional installer.
Some providers may void warranties if the door is improperly installed or damaged during installation.
10 Tips For Choosing The Best Door Installation Contractor
Now that you know the benefits you can reap from working with professional door installers, you’re probably wondering how to select the best contractor to take on your project.
With numerous companies vying for your attention, finding the right one for your needs can be challenging. Here are some tips to keep in mind.
- Ask Around
Finding a door installer can be time-consuming, especially if you don’t know where to look. But remember, you’re not the only one who’s gone through this process. You have plenty of sources available to help you find a reliable professional in your locality.
If you have relatives or friends who recently installed a great-looking door, you can ask them which contractor did the installation. Also, you can look around your neighborhood and check any exterior doors that may appeal to you. If you find one, you can ask the owner for their contractor’s contact information.
Now, if you don’t know anyone who’s recently had their door installed, you can simply do a quick online search. Just key in ‘door installation contractor’ and your location, and you’ll have a list of potential companies to evaluate. Furthermore, you can also go to trusted review websites such as Angie’s List or Better Business Bureau to browse a list of local door installation companies near you.
When looking online, check for customer reviews or testimonials. However, don’t let one or two bad ratings scare you off, especially if there are several positive reviews. After all, not everyone is perfect. Also, it’s a good sign if the company responded to the negative reviews and addressed the customer’s concerns. Then, you can use those responses to gauge the service quality you can expect from them.
- Skip The Startups
While we don’t have anything against startups or new businesses, if you want only the best door installation possible, you should only consider those that’s been in business for a few years.
The home building and renovation industry are booming, and there’s money to be made for door installers. Unfortunately, many people without experience or skills are getting into this kind of business. As a result, some homeowners may get ripped off with shoddy door installation.
And even if a particular startup contractor may have the necessary skills for proper door installation, they may not have the experience and still need to prove themselves. In contrast, contractors with a good track record show that the company is thriving and can guarantee good quality installations.
- Verify A Contractor’s License
Before hiring a door installation contractor, you need to make sure that they are registered and licensed. Although not every state requires individual door installers to obtain a license, the company should have the necessary license and permits from their local or state government to operate.
Hiring a licensed contractor guarantees that they are well-trained and qualified for this job. It also shows compliance with your local building codes. Also, don’t forget to verify their license number online and that the information is up to date.
- Look For Insured and Bonded Contractors
Aside from having the proper license to operate and install doors, the best contractors are also insured.
Contractor insurance will give you peace of mind. How so? When they have insurance, this means that if one of their crew members gets injured or causes damage to your property while on the job, you don’t have to worry about getting sued or compensated.
Meanwhile, a bonded contractor means that if they go out of business halfway through the job, the cost of hiring a new provider to finish the work will be covered. It can also mean that if a contractor did a terrible job and you have to hire another company to fix the issues, the cost will also be funded.
Although these types of information may not come upfront, it’s better to ask them before signing the service agreement.
- Hire The Crew, Not The Business
As previously mentioned, there’s a significant demand for home building and renovation, resulting in more startups. It’s also causing established businesses to hire more skilled employees to meet the demand.
Unfortunately, some of those hires don’t have the necessary experience or skills. And you don’t want them installing your door. And while we did mention that you should look for businesses that have been around for years, you also need to take a closer look at their crew.
So, when interviewing a door installation company, you should inquire about the experience and training of the people who will install your door. If possible, ask them to assign the more experienced ones to you.
- Check Their Portfolio
One of the best ways to check for the reliability of a door installer is to ask about their previous door installation projects.
Ask how many doors they’ve installed over the years. Can they install exterior and interior doors, or do they specialize in garage doors? If they’ve received complaints about their installation, how did they address it?
Any confident contractor will have answers to your questions. If possible, you should also ask for referrals from their previous customers who can vet their expertise and skills.
- Look For Installers Offering Product Selection With Good Warranty
Some businesses may only offer door products but don’t provide installation services and vice versa.
If you don’t want this extra step, look for contractors that offer a wide selection of doors and professional installations from qualified experts. This way, you can get everything you need in one go, saving you money and time in the process.
Also, any good contractor will provide you with a warranty for their products and services, showing their confidence in their work.
- Compare Prices
Door installation may not be the most expensive aspect of any home renovation or construction, but it will still cost you a few hundred dollars. So, you want to make sure that you’re getting the best deal possible.
You don’t have to stick to the first contractor you will find online. Ideally, you should get a full quote from at least three different contractors so you can compare costs.
Make sure to consider the pros and cons of each. Then, take a closer look at the costs included in their estimates and inspect for any hidden charges. Also, ask them about their terms and conditions for payments, the basic details of their products and services, and the completion dates to avoid any misunderstandings should you choose to hire them.
Comparing several quotes can help you plan for your budget and allows contractors to compete on price. However, keep in mind that a high price will not guarantee the quality of installation. Conversely, a low price will not automatically calculate with poor output. Thus, do not make a decision that’s based merely on price.
- After-Sales Service
You want a reliable contractor even after they’ve installed your door. The last thing you want is an unresponsive door installation company when a problem occurs after a few weeks of installation.
Fortunately, some companies offer continuous service throughout the years. However, some shady providers tend to ignore any service requests once they’re done with the installation.
Make sure to ask your contractor about this. Read the terms of services beforehand to avoid any disputes in the future.
- Always Get It In Writing
Once you’ve settled for a specific door installation contractor, ask them to provide you with a written contract. A reliable contractor will not have any qualms about giving this document to you before any work commences.
This contract should provide the complete details of all labor and material costs as well as the project’s completion date, especially if they’ll be working on multiple doors or complicated ones like garage doors.
Also, this contract should include any warranty they’re offering on their door products and installation services.
Take Away
As you’ve read in this article, you shouldn’t underestimate the benefits of having a professionally installed door. Replacing or installing doors may look easy compared to other home improvement projects. Still, it requires professional experience and specialized equipment to get the most out of them.
As a homeowner, you may have many questions in mind, such as how to choose a door installation contractor. Remember that you also need to be careful when selecting which installation contractor to hire. Not all door installation companies are equal in terms of quality work. Picking the wrong contractors can do more harm than good on your home’s door in the short and long term. If you want the job completed properly, follow the above tips when looking for the best contractors to call.
